SaysWho? Posted May 7 Share Posted May 7 Microsoft Closes Redfall Developer Arkane Austin, Hi-Fi Rush Developer Tango Gameworks, and More in Devastating Cuts at Bethesda - IGN WWW.IGN.COM Microsoft has closed a number of Bethesda studios, including Redfall maker Arkane Austin, Hi-Fi Rush developer Tango Gameworks, and more in devastating cuts at Bethesda, IGN can confirm. The Email: Quote Today I’m sharing changes we are making to our Bethesda and ZeniMax teams. These changes are grounded in prioritizing high-impact titles and further investing in Bethesda’s portfolio of blockbuster games and beloved worlds which you have nurtured over many decades. To double down on these franchises and invest to build new ones requires us to look across the business to identify the opportunities that are best positioned for success. This reprioritization of titles and resources means a few teams will be realigned to others and that some of our colleagues will be leaving us. Here are the changes going into effect: Arkane Austin – This studio will close with some members of the team joining other studios to work on projects across Bethesda. Arkane Austin has a history of making impactful and innovative games and it is a pedigree that everyone should be proud of. Redfall’s previous update will be its last as we end all development on the game. The game and its servers will remain online for players to enjoy and we will provide make-good offers to players who purchased the Hero DLC. Alpha Dog Studios – This studio will also close. We appreciate the team’s creativity in bringing Doom to new players. Mighty Doom will be sunset on August 7 and we will be turning off the ability for players to make any purchases in the game. Tango Gameworks – Tango Gameworks will also close. We are thankful for their contributions to Bethesda and players around the world. Hi-Fi Rush will continue to be available to players on the platforms it is today. Roundhouse Games – The team at Roundhouse Games will be joining ZeniMax Online Studios (ZOS). Roundhouse has played a key role in many of our recent game launches and bringing them into ZOS to work on The Elder Scrolls Online will mean we can do even more to grow the world that millions of players call home. With this consolidation of our Bethesda studio teams, so that we can invest more deeply in our portfolio of games and new IP, a small number of roles across select Bethesda publishing and corporate teams will also be eliminated. Those whose roles will be impacted will be notified today, and we ask that you please treat your departing colleagues with respect and compassion. We will provide our full support to those who are impacted in today’s notifications and through their transitions, including severance benefits informed by local laws. These changes are not a reflection of the creativity and skill of the talented individuals at these teams or the risks they took to try new things. I acknowledge that these changes are also disruptive to the various support teams across ZeniMax and Bethesda that bring our games to market. We are making these tough decisions to create capacity to increase investment in other parts of our portfolio and focus on our priority games. Bethesda remains one of the key pillars of Xbox with a strong portfolio of amazing games and thriving communities. As we look to the future, there is an impressive line-up of games on the horizon. In 2024 alone we have Starfield Shattered Space, Fallout 76 Skyline Valley, Indiana Jones and The Great Circle, and The Elder Scrolls Online’s Golden Road. As we align our plans and resources to best set ourselves up for success in this complex and changing industry, our teams across Arkane Lyon, Bethesda Game Studios, id Software, MachineGames, ZeniMax Online Studios and the Bethesda publishing and corporate teams will be well-positioned to build new IP, explore new game concepts, and expand on our existing franchises. - Matt 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crispy4000 Posted May 7 Share Posted May 7 Ooof At least Toys for Bob made it out alive. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
legend Posted May 7 Share Posted May 7 MS ruins far too many devs they acquire. They're no better than EA. I'm really worried for Obsidian. MS could be good -- giving them more budget -- or they could ruin them like so many other devs. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaysWho? Posted May 7 Author Share Posted May 7 From Jason Schreier: "The other shuttered subsidiaries are Alpha Dog Studios and Roundhouse Games (which will merge with Zenimax Online Studios)." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaysWho? Posted May 7 Author Share Posted May 7 Put the Matt Booty email in the OP. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crispy4000 Posted May 7 Share Posted May 7 Couldn't they just have sold Tango to someone else? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr.Vic20 Posted May 7 Share Posted May 7 Time and time again we see and will see this happen. Hot IP(s) drive the acquisition of these developers by big publishers, but often the visionaries behind these hits are headed for the door with a year or so of that acquisition. The publisher wants their infinite ROI and yet development teams are their people and people are transient. This is leaving aside a big commercial failure like Redfall, which really pointed to failed communications between MS and Arkane. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crispy4000 Posted May 7 Share Posted May 7 This did not age well. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crispy4000 Posted May 7 Share Posted May 7 I feel for the guys at Compulsion, Double Fine, Undead Labs, ineXile, etc. AA and niche games at Microsoft now appear to be a lot more precarious proposition. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CitizenVectron Posted May 7 Share Posted May 7 Microsoft Closes Redfall Developer Arkane Austin, Hi-Fi Rush Developer Tango Gameworks, and More in Devastating Cuts at Bethesda - IGN WWW.IGN.COM Microsoft has closed a number of Bethesda studios, including Redfall maker Arkane Austin, Hi-Fi Rush developer Tango Gameworks, and more in devastating cuts at Bethesda, IGN can confirm. Redfall development has stopped. No offline patch, MS will simply keep the servers on for...some undetermined length of time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShreddieMercury Posted May 7 Share Posted May 7 Insane news. These are some of the only interesting studios under the Bethesda umbrella. The industry is essentially full-on imploding at this point. Really hope everyone enjoyed 2023! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spork3245 Posted May 7 Share Posted May 7 28 minutes ago, CitizenVectron said: MS will simply keep the servers on Good news for the 2 people still playing, at least. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperSpreader Posted May 7 Share Posted May 7 Love the two-faced corporate-speak in that email. "This team is great and delivered successful titles so we are cutting them to align with our ambitions to make less of the same stuff and create new IP of the existing stuff so that we can shovel more-less shit on game pass because we value you as gamers" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperSpreader Posted May 7 Share Posted May 7 19 minutes ago, ShreddieMercury said: Insane news. These are some of the only interesting studios under the Bethesda umbrella. The industry is essentially full-on imploding at this point. Really hope everyone enjoyed 2023! It's a manufactured implosion. Leadership can't envision anyone but themselves leading and they're out of ideas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaysWho? Posted May 7 Author Share Posted May 7 4 minutes ago, SuperSpreader said: It's a manufactured implosion. Leadership can't envision anyone but themselves leading and they're out of ideas. The line on the graph didn't go up enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperSpreader Posted May 7 Share Posted May 7 11 minutes ago, SaysWho? said: The line on the graph didn't go up enough. Maybe if we make even less stuff it'll go up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keyser_Soze Posted May 7 Share Posted May 7 At least that answers the question that @Commissar SFLUFAN had with the Redfall DLC! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AbsolutSurgen Posted May 7 Share Posted May 7 "We bought a bunch of new studios so we can close the ones we already have." 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperSpreader Posted May 7 Share Posted May 7 3 minutes ago, Keyser_Soze said: answers the question Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperSpreader Posted May 7 Share Posted May 7 1 minute ago, AbsolutSurgen said: "We bought a bunch of new studios so we can close the ones we already have." "Now the COD devs won't have to crunch as hard and have more options for games to work on and they'll have more support" Fuckin' marks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AbsolutSurgen Posted May 7 Share Posted May 7 Next years announcement: "We've decided that to improve the quality of the games in the franchise, CoD will no longer see annual releases. We believe this is the right decision to drive long term player engagement." 3 Years from now: "We've decided to streamline the developer teams making CoD." 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
legend Posted May 7 Share Posted May 7 Maybe instead of buying and then closing studios we should fire the management forcing them in awful directions. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperSpreader Posted May 7 Share Posted May 7 That first statement is like you bought the NFL and decided players need a year break between seasons. lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperSpreader Posted May 7 Share Posted May 7 Just now, legend said: Maybe instead of buying and then closing studies we should fire the management forcing them in awful directions. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShreddieMercury Posted May 7 Share Posted May 7 The line is not going up enough for anyone. This is only partly a leadership issue, and has much more to do with how the entertainment industry, not just gaming, functions economically now. We can expect lots more of this to come across the industry from all players. AAA gaming is completely unsustainable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted May 7 Share Posted May 7 As @Commissar SFLUFAN mentioned, Xbox had a terrible earnings when you exclude Activision Blizzard. Not surprising these cuts are happening. Matt Booty and Phil Spencer have failed to grow and support their studios and IP. Unsurprisingly, the executives continue to skate by and are not held accountable for their failures. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dre801 Posted May 7 Share Posted May 7 Yikes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commissar SFLUFAN Posted May 7 Share Posted May 7 The unfortunate reality is that these smaller studios more than likely won't survive on their own without an acquisition to begin with as the investment environment isn't conducive for their independence. It's literally "damned if you do, damned if you don't". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keyser_Soze Posted May 7 Share Posted May 7 ‘A f***ing gut stab’: Arkane boss criticises Microsoft execs for studio closures | VGC WWW.VIDEOGAMESCHRONICLE.COM “You say we make you proud when we make a good game. Make us proud when times are tough.”… Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DPCyric Posted May 7 Share Posted May 7 Xbox already had a major problem with a lack of exclusives and this absolutely doesn't help. Closing Tango is an especially grievous error they released a really high rated game and seem to have their shit together. Sure Arkane Austin made a terrible game but it seems like it was more due to bad leadership wanting their GAAS title and they deserved another chance under Microsoft leadership. Really closing down Tango is a big WTF? especially considering Microsoft has talked about expanding their presence in Japan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dodger Posted May 7 Share Posted May 7 I almost feel kind of stupid for supporting Xbox the last few years 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biggie Posted May 7 Share Posted May 7 Microsoft has unlimited money and resources but continues to fuck up. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commissar SFLUFAN Posted May 7 Share Posted May 7 The head of Arkane Lyon -- who is (at least for now) a Microsoft employee -- went off on MS executives on Xwitter. ‘A f***ing gut stab’: Arkane boss criticises Microsoft execs for studio closures | VGC WWW.VIDEOGAMESCHRONICLE.COM “You say we make you proud when we make a good game. Make us proud when times are tough.”… Quote Arkane Lyon boss Dinga Bakaba has publicly criticised Microsoft executives for their decision to close several studios, including its Austin studio, calling the news “a fucking gut stab”. On Tuesday, the Xbox maker told staff at four studios, including Redfall maker Arkane Austin, that they are planned for closure. Games boss Matt Booty claimed that some staff would be moved to other teams and others would be laid off. Bakaba, the creative director of the critically acclaimed Deathloop and currently working on Blade, responded to the news on X with an unusually frank and critical message than we’re used to seeing from somebody running a first-party studio. “This is absolutely terrible,” he wrote. “Permission to be human: to any executive reading this, friendly reminder that video games are an entertainment/cultural industry, and your business as a corporation is to take care of your artists/entertainers and help them create value for you.” He added: “Don’t throw us into gold fever gambits, don’t use us as strawmen for miscalculations/blind spots, don’t make our work environments darwinist jungles. You say we make you proud when we make a good game. Make us proud when times are tough. We know you can, we seen it before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AbsolutSurgen Posted May 7 Share Posted May 7 Has @Commissar SFLUFANblocked @Keyser_Soze? 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commissar SFLUFAN Posted May 7 Share Posted May 7 My bad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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